Jung-ho Kang is on his way to the United States to finalize the four-year, $16 million contract that he agreed to with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. There is still no clarity in terms of how the Korean will be used, so what does that mean for the rest in the Pirates' infield?
Kang has played shortstop for his entire career in South Korea, but MLB scouts have viewed him more of a second or third baseman. Still, we don't know in what capacity he'll be utilized since third base is occupied by Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer spent the entire 2014 season as the Pirates' shortstop, and Neil Walker had another solid year at second base. Nonetheless, Kang remains confident about his chances on making a splash in Pittsburgh.
"If I get an opportunity to play consistently, I think I can play better (than Mercer)," Kang told the Yonhap News Agency during a press conference at Incheon Airport in Seoul, via this TribLive.com article. "I think I'll have to talk to the team about my position, but I'd like to play shortstop."
The 28-year-old Mercer slashed .255/.305/.387 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 149 games this past season. It was his first year taking over at the position full-time after he spent 145 games in 2012 and 2013 playing a little bit of second base in addition to shortstop. In 250 games at short, Mercer has a .976 fielding percentage and has only committed 24 errors. His 11 errors in 2014 ranked fifth in the MLB. There's clearly been improvement in his fielding abilities, so will the Pirates risk moving him in favor of Kang?
"I've had some experience in finding middle infielders in Asian countries," said Jim Duquette of MLB.com. "You find guys that play shortstop on a regular basis there, but because of the quickness of the game [in the MLB] they don't have the arm strength to play shortstop every day and a lot of times they have to move over to second base ... it seems like right now, with the way the Pirates are constructed (with Mercer at short and Walker at second), he's going to have a hard time finding playing time. This is one of those long-term plays for the Pirates."
However, now it's time to speculate. Walker is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and is projected to make $8.6 million in 2015, according to Baseball Reference. With the other projected arbitration salaries, the Pirates would end up with a payroll in excess of $90 million, which would be the highest in franchise history. This offseason alone they've signed starting pitchers A.J. Burnett (one year, $8.5 million) and Francisco Liriano (three years, $39 million) and also owe outfielder Andrew McCutchen $10.2 million and starter Charlie Morton $8 million. Does the addition of Kang signal the departure of Walker so the team can save money while also using Kang in a position where he might better fit?
Although Walker is under club control through the 2016 season, he's likely to get another big raise next year if he has another successful campaign in 2015, while Mercer is under club control through the 2018 season and will cost significantly less than Walker in the coming seasons. Pittsburgh spent about $21 million on Kang for four years (including the $5 million bid), which can be a strategy by the front office to save money down the road and replace Walker's power in the middle infield if he were to depart.
Kang slashed .356/.459/.739 with 40 home runs and 117 RBIs in 117 games last season with the Nexen Heroes.
